October 20, 2011
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On October 19, NCSHA participated, at HUD’s request, in a conference call HUD held for more than 100 stakeholders across the country as a follow-up to the October 12 White House Convening on affordable housing NCSHA attended.  HUD sponsored the call to update participants on the status of the FY2012 HUD funding bills under consideration in Congress and the Administration’s position on them.  NCSHA was one of four organizations HUD invited to make presentations during the call on their efforts to achieve the highest funding level possible for HUD programs. 

NCSHA’s Executive Director Barbara Thompson emphasized the importance of speaking with a united voice to achieve the largest possible share of funding for affordable housing in these very difficult budget times.  She encouraged those on the call to reach out to other stakeholders and partners in advocacy efforts and to communicate the importance of affordable housing programs to their Appropriations Committee members and to ask their non-Appropriations Committee members to communicate the message to their colleagues on the Committee. 

Thompson also offered up www.ncsha.org as a resource for advocacy materials.  She reminded those on the call that in addition to the severe budget challenges faced by HUD and USDA housing programs, the Housing Credit and Housing Bonds may also be threatened in the broader deficit reduction efforts.

HUD also used the conference call to discuss the White House’s October 17 Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) on the appropriations bill, H.R. 2112, currently being considered on the Senate floor.  H.R. 2112 combines three appropriations bills—Transportation-HUD, Agriculture, and Commerce-Justice-Science —and thus is being referred to as a “minibus.”  In the SAP, the Administration urges the Senate to “provide the resources necessary to continue to invest in infrastructure, housing, and community development programs that are critical to the Nation’s economic recovery and long-term competitiveness.”

The SAP specifically mentions several housing programs. The Administration urges the Senate to provide additional funds for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) programs. The SAP states that the Senate’s proposed substantial reduction of funding for the two programs would “significantly delay, and in some cases stop, infrastructure investments, including affordable housing development…” The Senate bill includes a 15 percent cut to CDBG and a 38 percent cut to HOME.

The SAP also requests that the Senate provide additional funding for Homeless Assistance Grants and the Public Housing Capital Fund. It states its appreciation for the Senate’s support in H.R. 2112 for Housing Choice Vouchers (vouchers), Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), HUD Housing Counseling, Choice Neighborhoods, and Sustainable Communities.

The SAP states that the funding provided for vouchers and PBRA “is sufficient to maintain rental assistance to current low-income residents.” During the call, however, HUD did not confirm that the Senate funding for these programs would be enough to assist as many families in FY 2012 as received assistance in FY 2011 and to fully fund all expiring contracts.  Because of the concern that the Senate funding for PBRA may not be sufficient to fully fund all expiring contracts, NCSHA co-signed a Preservation Working Group letter supporting full funding for PBRA. 

The Senate is currently working through amendments to H.R. 2112 and is expected to pass the bill either this week or early next week before leaving for a scheduled week-long recess.  The strategy for finishing appropriations bills in the House remains unclear.  The continuing resolution (CR) under which all federally funded agencies are currently operating expires on November 18.  Congress will either need to finish work on FY 2012 appropriations by that date or pass another CR to continue government funding.